Automate Reverse Logistics for Efficiency and Accuracy
As e-commerce has boomed and the demand for many products has reached historic highs, so have the rates and volumes of returns. Getting those returned goods back through the supply chain is absolutely vital, especially to recovering value from those products.
While less than 10 percent of in-store purchases are returned, at least 30 percent of items ordered online are returned. Companies doing business through e-commerce are finding that it’s essential to be able to get those returned purchases back into inventory, so they can be processed and resold as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Reverse logistics is also important for the return or retrieval of other types of products or assets that might require recycling, refurbishing, repair, or safe disposal.
For example, with the right systems and processes in place, companies can recover interchangeable or reusable parts and materials to be cleaned, reconditioned, and even remanufactured. Reverse logistics also allows packaging materials to be collected or returned and then reused, to help reduce waste and outright disposal.
There are many ways that reverse logistics can help businesses regain, recover or create new value, whether it’s through returning and rerouting items after an incorrect delivery or it’s managing end of life products to ensure environmental safety and compliance. Considering industry best practices can help you quickly develop, design and implement the right system.
Automation and tracking solutions, are the best tools available. Just as barcoding, RFID, and mobile computing and tracking solutions can help us create digital and automated processes for managing inventory and getting goods to customers, the same technologies can be used in reverse to track everything that’s coming back through the supply chain.
Our provision warehouse management solution was, developed to help manufacturers, distribution centers and 3PL companies meet growing customer demand for outbound goods and deliveries while also automating and digitizing their logistics processes for maximum accuracy and efficiency.
Utilizing hardware from our partner, Zebra Technologies, captures data in real time via barcoding and RFID to track goods, materials, and assets through each stage of your processes- even from a pickup at a customer’s door, a return label that’s been scanned by your return shipper, or from any other point in a reverse logistics process.
With updates and alerts you will know when a return or a reverse supply chain process has been initiated. It lets you know what and how much is on the way, when it has arrived, and where it should go next for restocking, processing, recycling or whatever the next step is in your process.
The proVision WMS solution scan track individual items or shipments as well as pallets, cartons and even kits, and provides visibility into what’s on hand and what’s in transit. Customizable and scalable you can configure to fit your unique processes and workflows.
To learn more about proVision’s reverse logistics capabilities and determine if our solution is a fit for your business needs, connect with us now to schedule a demo at your convenience. We’d be happy to show you how a digital and automated system can help you extend your warehouse management into reverse logistics and recover or create new value from the goods, materials and products that make their way back to your business.
Contact us now at 877-977-6967 or through the proVision WMS website to get started.
